Wanted the drown my post-open house blues with a Mill's Hoagie, but it was closed on Sunday. Headed to The Cheese Steak Shop in Castro Valley for one of their cheesesteak hoagies and some onion rings to-go instead. Easy ordering, and the quality is consistent with other franchise locations. Service was fast (mid-afternoon, so not during a mealtime rush), and staff were very nice. May not be able to afford Bay Area real estate, but at least I can put that down payment towards a tasty meal to take the sting out of it. read more

It's a pretty common looking Cheese Steak Shop layout. Pics of the old school shops that started it all on the walls is a nice tribute! Peppy employees with positive attitudes! That's always a great draw! Slight slip up with the order. We requested NO hot peppers, and just sweet and ended up with both, but did not notice until we got home. Not a huge deal. Just gave Wifey mine so she wouldn't have a cow! But surprisingly, the sandwiches weren't cut in half! That's a big sandwich to hold whole! At least we were home and I've got knives! Never had that happen before! The food was solid as always and that was the main thing! Great gut filler! read more

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Ordered the Chillin Chili for the Roasted peppers... got to the end of the first half of my sandwich before I hit the tiniest piece of roasted chili. So disappointed. This place is Too Expensive to be so chintzy. Will never order this sandwich again. Ordered through the app and I must say - every time we pay for that tip beforehand our order is wrong, the food is bunk or they've left something out. Refer to photo on zoom to see those delicious roasted peppers (I drew a box around it). read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Abundant peppers whoa NOT - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Came here to see Castro Village light up their Christmas tree & got hungry during festivities. Their pizza king cheesesteak hit the spot, loaded with extra meat & cheese. Will probably try the Cali one next. read more

I called in the order and went and picked it up. The gentleman on the phone was very polite he repeated the order back and was patient while I ordered the second one. You can eat in but it's not very large inside maybe 6 tables. You can see them cook the food from the counter. I got chicken peppers spinach and cheese with fries the fries are steak fries they have fountain drinks and bottle drinks. They have tvs to watch while you wait. Everyone was nice the food was excellent and we will go back again soon. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Steak fries and cheese steak sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Half hoagie added cheese bc it doesn't come with which is crazy $10 extra charge for cheese Steak fries $4 Kids chicken fritters w fries $10 Juice box $2 So we were craving hoagies since it's been so long! The trust cheese steak use to be a staple so we decided to go. It's def not as good as I remember it. Flavorless, expensive. The meat has no flavor. Steak didnt have salt. Chicken fritter had a rubbery taste. I'm only giving 2/3 star bc the customer service was great! Young Asian guy was nice and helpful. They charged us $2 for a Carpi Sun!!!! We didn't realize it until free we paid and I'm not the type to return anything but capri sun is the cheaper of any juice box that there can be and $2 a pop is insane. Parking is a nightmare on a weekend. I won't return to this location. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

One of my fav cheese steaks in the East Bay. I've tried a few in San Leandro, and this is one worth driving a little further for in Castro Valley for me. I usually order a classic Philly and add mushrooms and bell peppers, and cherry peppers for a kick. The bread is a great fresh texture, not too thick and has a good flavor. The steak is tender not chewy, and all the flavors are balanced with the cheese (I usually get American). Curly fries were nice, hot and crunchy. The interior is standard size for a sandwich shop with 4-5 four seater tables. Service was friendly. It wasn't too busy when I got there. I'd go back, and wish they had more locations in the East Bay given they're a franchise. It's not the BEST cheese steak I've ever had, but for the area it hits hard. I'm always looking for local cheese steak spots to patronize as well, but until I find one better, it's TCSS all the way. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Classic Philly and Curly Fries - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Their cheesesteaks by themselves might be a 4 for some and for me that's the case. I was really hungry, walked up, ordered, and met my wife in the booth. Several others lined up behind me so I was thinking, man, this is good, mine should be up first. There were a couple others waiting but I didn't think much of it. 20 minutes later I was finished waiting so I went to the counter to ask when to expect our order. Dude said bout 20 minutes. Right as I began to short circuit, the woman who took my order stepped in and told me we would be next. You hear the spatula smacking against the grill. Ting ting ting... you start thinking...that must be mine..."order for Betty". Yeah, I was next. Order for Bob. The wait killed it. We got our order, ate it all. It was delicious but not super hot? How's that? Warm enough but I expected hot off the grill. Not sure if I could come back after that one. Even the people that were coming in for a scheduled pick up were extended stayers. F that. I love the product and dislike greatly the service. Need at least one more person back there. Kinda nuts. Poor dudes behind us were still waiting as we were leaving. Service is a deal breaker for me---2 stars :( read more

Terrible customer service + demanding ID for a sandwich??? So a few weeks ago I ordered a cheesesteak ( via the Cheesesteak Shop App ) from this Castro Valley Shopping Center location which I have done maybe 100+ times before and when i was at the register to pick up the woman demanded to see my ID to pick up my order? WHAT THE HELL ! Is that not a bit far? Seems like an invasion of privacy to me. And also the attitude with it was insane. How is having the name, order details, and phone # not enough to verify pick up? Do you need a DNA sample also? I feel and felt violated and disrespected and it has not sat right with me since! THEN I check your locations reviews and other customers feel the same way. HORRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE, Im literally still offended and pissed off weeks later. I hope you guys get it together and correct the situation because this is completely unacceptable read more

Parking is terrible and took me a while to find so be wary of that! Also, this place gets super busy after school. Best bet is to order ahead and pick it up! What I enjoyed is the different topping selections to add on to your hoagie. You can also have full sandwich or half. You get more for your buck paying for the pull sandwich. However, for the price you pay, the meat didn't have more flavor to it. I was glad to have added the additional toppings. The staff was super helpful and friendly though! Not sure if I'd come back to this location though since parking isn't ideal. read more

This chain is not quite as good as it was back in the day but it's still pretty good. The hoagie sandwich was loaded with meat and the classis philly always hits the spot. If you order the steak fries, I'd recommend ordering them extra crispy. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - The Classic Philly with Curly Fries - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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I ordered a cheesesteak with mushrooms and fries. It was ok. The fries were a bit chewy when they cooled down. I remember what I ordered being a lot more tasty years ago :( Customer service was ok too. It wasn't bad but for the price I would probably eat somewhere else. It wasn't good enough for me to come back especially because prices are not cheap here. The place looks nice inside. read more

Seriously so bad. We called in a phone order for 5 sandwiches and 4 fries. Came in to pick up and realized we only received 3 sandwiches and 3 fries. The fries we were given were only half a basket and they were cold. The sandwiches we did get had NO cheese!!! At a Philly CHEESE steak place! Furthermore, we went back to get our 2 lost sandwiches and they said they would make them but not get it for us until thirty minutes and at that point we wanted to leave. They couldn't even refund us because the lady claimed "she wasn't a manager". We left hungry and down $84. I am so disappointed. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Philly cheese steak with no cheese???? - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Decided to try again here, this time they made my order right away, but...I requested hot peppers on the cheese steak. Got my order, it's all taped up so not easy to inspect while on the premises, didn't find out until I return home there were no=none of the requested hot peppers on the sandwich. It was very blah tasting and I regret wasting my hard earned money here. If I just wanted a meal, I could have opened my refrigerator door. I've learned my lesson, this is a place to be avoided unless you want to be served with one issue or another. read more

I tried this for the first time when my husband asked me to order some dinner for us since he had tried this place before. I was excited to try, I called and I had the guy repeat the order back to me and it sounded good. I was disappointed when I got home and found out that my cheese steak had no onions and no peppers. I am willing to try it again because it did taste good . I had to improvise at home and my husband gave me some of his onions and peppers. They just need to make sure they get their orders right. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Cheese steak, they didn't add my onions or peppers - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

If you like super hard chip your tooth crunchy cold fries/curly fries, this is the place for you. I prefer warm soft fries, but I guess I'm different. They also don't know what sweet peppers are. When I asked why they didn't put any sweet peppers on any of the 3 sandwiches, the guy was unable to articulate a sentence. When eating here, be sure to have dental insurance if you order fries, and be mentally prepared to not get what you paid for. read more

Food was good, I got the salad with chicken & my husband got the Philly. The fries were bussin! I'd come back for fries. People were nice & enjoyed siting inside while we scarfed it down. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

My hubby and I both ordered the cheesesteak sandwiches with the sweet peppers through door dash. Not one sweet pepper on either sandwich. If you are out of them ( we ordered after the lunch rush) then inform us. This is the second time this has happened. Not sure I'm going to try again. We have always enjoyed our sandwiches in the past. Very disappointed read more

The staff at this shop are impeccable. They are attentive and take the orders well. I have rarely left this shop with any of my order missing, and if there was an issue like a missing nacho cheese sauce they quickly fixed it. The staff seem to work with each other well and get their orders out in an impeccable manner. The shop itself is the typical manner of a Bay Area cheesteak shop. Soda, condiments and clean tables. The staff are great with maintaining their shop. I have never walked in and found the shop in disorder. The issue that I did have with this shop was the order that I made one evening I ordered two King Phillys and two large. The King Philly with added items is difficult for me to finish. Its a large sandwich, my wife cant finish a regular. That night the sandwiches were light. The kings had barely the meat of the large sandwich, and the larges were haplessly thin. My wife finished hers and was still hungry afterwards. I called the restaurant and asked if the brand had changed the amount of meat that was in the sandwiches which would be understandable. The gentleman on the phone was adamant that I was mistaken and that they placed the correct amount of meat in the sandwiches. He went on to assure me that the cook had been making Cheesesteaks for over 10 years. They were 100% light. My family ended up going to Wendys later as we were still hungry from the light cheesesteaks. We have since started avoiding this location. We had tried it again once to see if the amount of beef in the sandwich was a fluke. It seems to be the standard now at this location. Our family now goes to the Hayward location next to the Target anytime we are in the mood for a cheesesteak. read more

Updating - after my previous experience, the company reached out to me. I gave it another shot and got the sandwich I expected. Cheesesteak was tasty, fries were hot and crispy, service was prompt and polite. Thanks for making it right! read more

Wood is not a stem wood, buying presliced mushrooms, still need to be washed. Otherwise, it was great read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Veggie sandwich - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

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Have not been here in years and was so happy i went. The young man who took my order was very attentive, nice, and patient. I waited in the restaurant for my food to be ready. It has been updated and has tv's to watch the games. Once I got my food, DELICIOUS. Exactly what I wanted. Definitely will be coming back again. read more

First time at this location, got the hoggie style, service was very good and the cheesesteak sandwich to me was a very good

My favorite cheese steak shop! Something about those peppers and steak just hit different. Usually get the pats BBQ and its on point every time I order. read more

Friendly customer service and they always have the game on the tv! The food here is fresh and fast and I love all of the menu options. I love the fact that I can order a cheesesteak salad and add all my favorite ingredients, including whole garlic! They have a variety of soda options and the bread is always so yummy. They also have spicy and sweet peppers which give a nice flavor kick. read more

The service here is terrible. In one experience I picked up food for my husband and when I checked in as to if it was ready, the person working said we shouldn't have ordered on the app when they weren't open yet. That was not our responsibility as the customer - if the app allowed us to order with pickup around opening that leads me to think the shop set it up that way. The most recent experience happened today, my husband ordered 1 sandwich and it took over 40 minutes to prepare with no explanation or reason for why it took so long when the shop wasn't busy. read more

My dad has been craving a Philly cheesesteak for many months. So I've been browsing for different cheesesteak places. I was a bit wary coming here after reading some of the reviews from those who had bad wait times and experiences. But, I thought I would give it a try and I'm so glad I took a chance! Maybe there were staffing and organizational changes bc I had a super great experience. First, I ordered online as asap and the process was seamless and order was accurate. The "expected" time was about 25 min but it literally took 5-7 mins! Not only that, but they texted me when the order was ready so that I knew when to arrive. Now that's great service! The staff was very friendly and cheerful and my food was waiting, ready and piping hot when I picked it up. Basically had an original Philly with sweet peppers, onions and cheese...and it far exceeded my expectations! I haven't had a Philly cheesesteak since I was in the heart of Philadelphia at Pat's king of Steaks and Geno's. Of course can't beat the originals but it most definitely satisfied my cravings from PA. Meat is cut thin and extremely tender and juicy, sweet peppers are on point w melted cheesy goodness. All the ingredients are customizable and had super generous portions. You can ask for extra peppers/onions at no cost and add other types of ingredients for an additional charge. Everything was very fresh and tasty. Also tried the guylic fries but a couple of them were a tad soggy (slightly undercooked) and couldn't really taste the garlic. Next time I may want to try Cajun or curly fries. It's also possible to pass on the fries since the portion of sandwich is quite large and filling. Definitely will be back and maybe next time, I'll try the chicken Philly. If u sign up w the app, you can get points on your orders and they will send u a deal to use for "free regular combo with purchase of large or king sandwich" read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

4:22pm.. thurs april 17th. 2025.. I been here. Numerous of times. I'm a harsh critic. I you. Can see my reviews why I don't go to Hayward cheesesteak shop. Don't put the new guy inchage of fries and register. He couldn't even get my phone # right for my rewards. I know it's his training week, please have someone there to help him. Everyone was doing there job there. Even saw rhe manager, bald white guy. No judgement! Lol .. smile your store has alot of clients and I drive here from newark!! Keep up the good work and one day I will be your mystery shopper.. or maybe I am.. hmmmm read more

Castro Valley has the best location! It's always super fresh and the portions for a half hoagie and curly fries are huge. If you ask them to chop the peppers up so it's easier to eat with the sandwich they will! Only thing strange is the kids grilled cheese. It comes on a hoagie bun with Swiss cheese in the middle so when you open it it's literally just bread till you look in side and find the cheese. It's honestly not good and a waste of money. The kids chicken tenders aren't much better. Stick with the normal menu and you'll be satisfied! read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - The Hoagie (Half) Curly Fries (Regular) - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

Ordered at 645 got my food at 740 felt way too long for a sandwich even when busy. Granted it seems there was a new hire that wasn't up to speed but probably needed more support and spot checking. read more

Customer service is horrible. They don't wear their name tags. I had to ask for the name of the person who was pretty rude over the phone. Harden or something along those lines needs to work on their customer service and attitude. I get he's young but if he isn't capable of being kind then he needs to go. I called the first time and was placed on hold for 15 min. I had to recall and was met with more rudeness. I had to ask if it was okay to order or like what was the issue. read more

Bread for cheesesteak sandwich was very small. It was a small hot dog bun and we've purchased at other cheesesteak locations and have always been served on a regular size bread. This was more like a snack size! Will never order from this place again. read more

This place closes earlier than it used to because it's gone so far down hill. They don't give you what you ask for, they don't have high quality food like they used to and their staff is far more rude than they used to be. 1 star is a bit too high of a score for them. That's how far they have sunk. read more

My food was made wrong!! A cheese steak with onions, peppers, is what I ordered!! I got a crappy small roll with no peppers or onions !! He wouldn't make me another one because they were closed ! If he would have made it right I wouldn't have had to come back !! My friend didn't like hers either!! The worker was very rude !! Never go there again!! read more

Okay so my sister had doordashed several different sandwiches, some onion rings and fries. Order gets delivered but no way to figure out which sandwich was which. As much as I would like to say what sandwich I enjoyed. I couldn't tell you. I did try a couple onion rings but must've had a bad batch or something. They were a bit soggy and tasted like oil. Maybe next time would be a better experience. That's if there's a next time. read more

Been coming here since 2014 and most of the time it's been good, but on my last couple of visits the quality of food has noticeably declined. My sandwich was soggy, small, and tasteless when I visited today. Not what I have come to expect. Fries were so awful I sent them back; they made no attempt to compensate for that or serve one of their other kinds of fries. Cannot recommend this place any more. There's been a change here, and not a good one. read more

Horrible experience tonight. I got there when my online order (1 sandwich) was supposed to be ready. Then sat there for 30 minutes with about 7 or 8 other people watching the three people on staff chase their tails. They did not have the ability to handle a small rush nor did it seem like they even cared to try. The hiring process needs to be better. Won't be back. read more

Ordered the South Philly with chicken (Large $10.49). Comes with pizza sauce, mushrooms, provolone cheese plus I added grilled onions and sweet peppers. Delicious! I was a little worried that the pizza sauce might be overwhelming but it was just right (more like a condiment). The size is plenty for 2-old people - ha, ha... It didn't take long to get my order. The staff was friendly and hustling. I look forward to my next visit. read more

Philly Cheese Fries. When I called I was told they would compensate my meal. If I lived around the corner maybe that would be something that would be appealing but I don't, so it isn't . I was told that this is what I received because they are busy, because of the football game on television. Didn't know good customer service is contingent on the level of busyness in the lobby (2 people at the time I was in there) because if that's the case, G*D help them because football season hasn't even started. If you go here be prepared to be disappointed. Flag on the field. read more

The Cheese Steak Shop - Philly Cheese Fries - Sandwiches Near Me - Castro Valley, California

I just had the worst customer service experience from felicity she was very rude I only had $100.00 bill and she asked if I had something and I said not really. She advised me the customer to walk over to Walgreens to get change. I advised her I would not be walking to Walgreens to get change. I then advised that there should have been a sign post then she moves a bunch of snack cakes that were spilled all over the counter top and says In a very sarcastic tone the sign is here. I then went on to point out that the sign should be visible. She also took for ever with me order intentionally and instead of the person making the sandwiches making mine she decided to leave her register to make my sandwich and when I asked for a manager and a refund she refused and said I had to come back tomorrow. Hands down the most horrible service and no manager on site is ridiculous. Never again read more